Barefoot Running Movement Afoot

By Nancy K. Crevier

The followers of barefoot running prefer that it be called a “movement” as opposed to a “fad,” believing that the sport is not a flash in the pan exciting a small population before dying out. Barefoot runners advocate learning to run without the heavily-cushioned running shoes popularized since mainstream joggers took to the roads in the 1970s, and in recapturing the delight of light-footed running in minimalist shoes or no shoes at all.

The trend appears to have “stepped off” on the West Coast, the homeland of some of the best-known barefoot runners. Ken Bob Saxton, referred to on some websites as the “godfather” of barefoot running (although he denies it on his personal blog) has been a runner both shod and nonshod for virtually all of his life, and has managed the Barefoot Running website since 1997.

Ted McDonald, a Seattle barefoot proponant aka “Barefoot Ted” to the running world, garnered national attention as a character in the 2009 Christopher McDougall book, Born To Run. He is a barefoot marathon runner, and the administrator of the Born To Run fan site for that book in which the author, according to the Knopf-Doubleday review, “sets off to find a tribe of the world’s greatest distance runners [the cliff-dwelling Tarahumara Indians of Mexico’s Copper Canyons] and learn their secrets, and in the process shows us that everything we thought we knew about running is wrong.”

The adventures of Mr McDougall (and Mr McDonald) between the pages are a beacon of light to other barefoot runners. Mr McDonald coaches and speaks to groups about the barefoot running phenomena, and provides helpful information to other likeminded runners at his website barefooted.com.

“There is no doubt in my mind,” said Mr McDonald in a recent telephone interview, “that running is healthier in a minimalist shoe or barefoot.”

Research is “calling the bluff” on the modern running shoe, said Mr McDonald, “that the more padding [a shoe has] the safer you will be [when running].” His personal conversion from the heavily cushioned shoe for running to barefoot running came at the end of 2003, when he was trying to find a solution to running without pain. The result of his research then has been a whole-hearted embracement of a return to a more natural way of running, and one which has proven to him time and again that those qualms people have about running without a heavy shoe — stepping on something painful or a more painful impact — are unfounded.

If anything, said Mr McDonald, the biggest problem he sees in runners transitioning is over-exuberance, resulting in some very sore muscles.

As a coach, the advice he gives to beginning barefoot runners seems contrary to what might be expected. “Most people think the ideal place to start is a grassy place or with soft material. It’s the total opposite of the methodology I’ve developed,” he said. Mr McDonald advises novice barefoot runners to try running on hard surfaces.

“They realize that they can move in such a way that it is quiet and gentle. There is no pounding at all,” he said. By running smoothly, runners are quickly picking up their feet and responding to any potentially hurtful objects before they can cause damage. There is a feedback between the many sensitive nerves in the foot and the brain that results in a pleasurable experience.

Running barefoot or in minimalist shoes is a combination of force, grace, and strength, said Mr McDonald, and humans can learn incrementally how to move again. “Barefooting is all about getting reconnected to your body,” he said.

Rather than actual barefooting, though, he sees a trend toward alternative shoes. “From my perspective, it’s a radical shift that is happening. Thousands of people are getting into alternative footwear. You’re going to see very soon that people with big, padded shoes are going to seem as absurd as people running barefoot now.

“In the end, what is amazing to me,” said Mr McDonald, “is how joyful it is. The most comfortable way to move across the earth is barefoot. I’m surprised every day.”

Are There Advantages?

The question that comes up time and again on blogs and websites devoted to barefoot running, though, is whether or not barefoot running is advantageous to running distances shod.

Dr Daniel E. Lieberman, Madhusudhan Venkadesan, and Adam I. Daoud of Harvard University and William A. Werbel of the University of Michigan Medical School sought to answer that question and other related concerns with their recent study “Biomechanics of Barefoot Running & Applications To Running Barefoot Or In Minimal Footwear” (barefootrunning.fas.Harvard.edu).

 “Our research asked how and why humans can and did run comfortably without modern running shoes. We tested and confirmed what many people knew already: that most experienced, habitual barefoot runners tend to avoid landing on the heel and instead land with a forefoot or midfoot strike,” states the study’s summary. The study team notes that “before the mid 1970s all humans ran in either no shoes or very minimal footwear such as sandals, moccasins or thin running flats” and that “… runners who forefoot or midfoot strike do not need shoes with elevated cushioned heels to cope with these sudden, high transient forces that occur when you land on the ground. Therefore, barefoot runners can run easily on the hardest surfaces in the world without discomfort from landing. If impact transient forces contribute to some forms of injury, then this style of running (shod or barefoot) might have some benefits, but that hypothesis remains to be tested.” Heel strikes may contribute to stress injuries suffered by 30 to 75 percent of distance runners each year.

Despite the long, cold seasons permeating the Northeast, there are a few hardy Newtown natives who are under the spell of barefoot running.

Kevin Hoyt graduated from Newtown High School in 2008, where he was captain of the cross country team. He is now a sophomore at Keene State College in New Hampshire, studying health promotion and fitness.

“I first started running in sixth or seventh grade with my dad,” said Kevin, “and started running competitively my freshman year at NHS.” Those first miles were put on wearing traditional running shoes. When Kevin read about the benefits of barefoot running in a running magazine, and then online in a running forum, he began experimenting with running shoeless. Mainly, he chose to run in the minimalist shoe, the Vibram FiveFingers, rather than completely unshod.

The Vibram FiveFingers, probably the best-known minimalist footwear on the market, professes to provide the same foot and leg stimulation of going barefoot, while offering a modicum of protection from slippery or rough surfaces. The thin, lightweight rubber shoe is flexible enough to follow the shape of the foot, and like a glove, offers each toe its own compartment. The shoe offers full movement of the foot and sensitivity to the ground beneath the runner. And although it is not the pretty girl of shoe wear, it does turn heads.

No matter where Kevin runs in them, including China two years ago, he is bound to catch someone staring at his feet.

‘You Feel Everything’

“The major difference running barefoot or in Vibram FiveFingers is that you feel everything you run over. Every pebble, stick, and slight surface change can be felt, which is odd at first. But then it’s nice to be able to feel the change,” he said. He has experienced no mishaps while running barefoot or in the Vibram FiveFingers. By the time he bought his second pair in 2008, Kevin was running in them up to seven miles at a clip.

Winter weather has temporarily halted Kevin’s barefoot running, but he does walk around campus in them “as long as it isn’t raining or snowing where I’m walking,” he said. “I am planning on running in them more often as the weather warms up.”

Currently, Kevin is running competitively in minimalist running shoes. “The use of minimalist shoes helps transitioning from regular trainers to barefoot running,” explained Kevin.

He sees the barefoot running community to be on the rise where he is, fueled somewhat by the release of the McDougall book. “I know two others who use Vibram FiveFingers as running shoes and two others who incorporate barefoot running into their training,” he said.

Brothers Dave and Andrew LaMarche of Newtown both believe that their running styles and health have improved since they began dabbling in barefoot running last year.

Primarily a recreational runner, Dave, a 2005 NHS graduate, quit running three years ago due to knee problems. Then last summer, his brother, a co-captain of the NHS cross country team, encouraged him to read Born To Run, and try barefoot running. Now, said Dave, he and Andrew go on five-mile-plus runs several times a week.

“I have run actual barefoot,” said Dave, “on the high school track or on grass. I’m more about minimal sole shoes, though,” he said. With the thinly soled shoe that he favors, he is able to land on the forefront of his foot, rather than the jarring heel-strike that occurred running in cushioned shoes and that he believes contributed to his knee issues. “It has helped my knees. I’ve changed my stride. It’s a lot better than running in traditional running shoes,” said Dave.

Andrew was a sophomore on the NHS cross country team when captain Kevin Hoyt showed up in Vibram FiveFingers. “I sort of dismissed them then,” said Andrew, “but last summer I ran into Kevin in Huntington Park wearing them again and thought there might be something to them.”

He researched the subject of barefoot running, read Born To Run, and found out that barefoot running “resulted in fewer running injuries. What I liked about the book Born To Run was that it wasn’t all ‘rah, rah, barefoot running.’ It seemed solid. So I bought a pair [of Vibram FiveFingers] and started getting used to them,” Andrew said.

A Gradual Transition

While it might seem that going without shoes would be a very natural thing to do, all of the Newtown runners, as well as experienced barefoot runners on various websites, emphasize the importance of a gradual transition from traditional running shoes to barefoot running. Running barefoot or in minimal shoes uses an entirely different set of muscles in the legs and feet, and overdoing it early on will result in blistered soles and aching legs. One of his first outings in the Vibram FiveFingers was so rejuvenating, said Andrew, that he kept going. Five miles later, he was left with calf muscles that had been overworked. “It is painful when you start out. Until calluses build up a little, rocks are going to hurt a little bit,” he admitted.

“A lot of people go at it too hard in the beginning,” agreed Dave, “and get sidelined for months. You have to keep your eyes open when running barefoot and concentrate more on the running. Just walk a little bit down the street, watching for pebbles and stuff. You have to take it gradually.”

On two of the less slushy days this winter, Andrew did run wearing the Vibram. He was not sure what to expect in 28-degree weather, but found that his feet remained “extremely warm. I would say, my feet were probably the warmest part of me, even,” said Andrew. “I was surprised.”

In traditional running shoes, Andrew had also begun to experience knee problems, he said, but since making the switch to alternative shoes and barefoot running, he has rediscovered his enjoyment of the sport. “There is no pain involved now, except tiredness. I’ve found that if your running form falls apart while barefoot running, that information seems to go to your brain and you correct it immediately. I feel like I can go a lot farther, with less effort,” he said. “I feel more alive and happy when running.”

The Harvard study cautions about jumping to conclusions. “Barefoot runners often adopt forefoot or midfoot strike gaits and have softer landing, which may reduce their risk of injury. Well-controlled studies are needed to determine whether barefoot running results in fewer injuries,” states the paper.

It has been for the last six to seven years that Dr Brian Fullem of Newtown Sports Podiatry on South Main Street has seen the interest in barefoot running grow in the running community, he said. “You see it come up in discussions on forums like letsrun.com. Mainly I see runners trying a shoe like the Nike Free, which mimics barefoot running,” Dr Fullem said. He sees some merit in the trend, as periods of running unshod can strengthen the foot, but underlines the importance of building up from running in traditional shoes to a minimal or barefoot style.

“In this society, we pretty much grow up with shoes and our feet are supported,” said Dr Fullem. “If you don’t build up to running without that support, that’s when you run into problems. There are few runners who have the ability to go out and run barefooted without getting injured. In this area, I worry about running on the hard pavement, glass and rocks in the road, and those types of problems, as well as puncture wounds that might occur,” he said.

A runner himself, Dr Fullem said that he limits his own barefoot running to short sprints, or “strides,” following a run, and always on a soft or grass surface.

In his practice, he has seen very few runners training actually barefoot, he said. “More are trying the minimalist shoes,” said Dr Fullem.

Whether or not barefoot running is superior to running in traditional shoes is a personal opinion, but the three Newtown runners feel that this niche suits their lifestyles.

 “Since it is fairly easy for anyone to go run without shoes in a grassy field, there isn’t an ‘elite’ group of barefoot runners,” said Kevin.

“With barefoot running,” Dave said, “you just do it because you enjoy it. It’s a good thing.”